NEW: Brown: Warren’s Heritage Blunder About ‘Character, Honesty’

The issue of Elizabeth Warren’s heritage speaks to her “character and honesty,” U.S. Sen. Scott Brown told GoLocalWorcester Thursday afternoon.

The senator made the rounds in Massachusetts today, starting out in Springfield where he toured areas damaged by last June’s deadly tornadoes. He stopped by the Workforce Central Career Center in Worcester and was slated to visit VFW Post 3657 later that day.

In an exclusive one-on-one interview with GoLocalWorcester, a part of which will be broadcast on GoLocalTV, Brown touched on veterans’ issues, his staunch support of Fitchburg’s Magistrate Judge Timothy Hillman as a U.S. District Court judge in Worcester and his rival this November, Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren.

Warren’s Heritage

Recent polls have Warren and Brown running neck and neck for the seat Brown won as an upstart challenger two years ago. The campaign has been heated and the temperatures were turned up several notches when it was learned that Warren informed Harvard University that she was part Cherokee. That claim has since been disputed by ancestry groups and Warren has come under increasing pressure to release any and all records related to the issue.

Brown has visited the matter on the campaign trail and raised the stakes recently when he was asked about Warren’s heritage claim that the story of her Cherokee heritage was passed down from generation to generation.

“My mom and dad have told me a lot of things too, but they’re not always true,” he said.

On Thursday, Warren released a scathing statement demanding Brown apologize.

“Scott Brown’s comments about my parents are totally out of line,” Warren said. “I resent him questioning their honesty. My mother and father are not here to defend themselves and should be off limits.”

Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren

Senator Stands Ground

Speaking with GoLocalWorcester, Brown smirked when asked whether he was attacking his opponent’s parents and did not offer an apology.

“No,” he said. “This whole thing is something of Professor Warren’s making. She needs to answer the questions being raised and she needs to release her personal records, just as I’ve released more than 30 years’ worth of records.”

Warren’s heritage is a serious campaign issue, Brown said, because, “We’re held to a higher standard. This speaks to character and honesty. You need to tell the truth.”

Take Care of Veterans

Warren wasn’t the only issue for Brown on Thursday. He was at Workforce Central to meet with job seekers. Many of those who showed up were veterans and the senator acknowledged the difficult many of them have in finding work.

“I know we just passed important legislation offering incentives to employers who hire veterans,” Brown said. “I was glad to be able to listen to them and hear their concerns. For individual cases, they just need to reach out to me.”

Appoint Hillman

Brown said he is excited to cast a vote for Hillman on Monday when Congress reconvenes and federal lawmakers address the issue. Both Brown and Democratic U.S. Sen. John Kerry have stood firmly in Hillman’s corner.

“I am honored to recommend him for this post,” Brown said. “We’ve made it through the machinations of the political process. Now I’m going to tell my colleagues they should vote for (Hillman).”

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Warren had put on her application to Harvard that she was a Cherokee. She informed the school after she was hired.